Soon after after the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth (a visit which lasted three months), Elizabeth gives birth to John.

In Luke's words: And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy towards her; and they were rejoicing with her.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, the greatest fresco painter of his generation, provides us with unsurpassed versions of these episodes from the Life of the Baptist. They decorate the walls of the Cappella Tornabuoni of the Santa Maria Novella in Florence.